“Death of the Speed Force” continues! The Speed Force is collapsing, and its destructor is here…to save the day?! The Strength, Sage and Still forces have placed a dangerous strain on the force that empowers the DC Universe’s super-speedsters, and the Flash is about to face the impossible choice of saving his friends’ lives or losing his powers forever!

“Death of the Speed Force” begins! With renewed resolve following the events of “The Flash Year One,” the Flash is back with a new mission, a new outlook and a brand-new speedster HQ. But the Fastest Man Alive is slowing down-and there’s only one explanation: the Speed Force is dying. Plus, the Year of the Villain heats up as Captain Cold uses Lex Luthor’s offer to boost Heat Wave to the next level!

“The Flash Year One” finale! This oversize anniversary issue marks the end of Barry Allen’s journey to become the Flash-but at what cost? The Turtle’s final play will challenge our hero in every way possible, and by the end of the battle, a Flash will be born-and a Flash will die! Also in this issue, witness Lex Luthor’s offer to Captain Cold, whose icy vengeance waits for the Flash just around the corner…

“The Flash Year One” continues! The Turtle has made his grand entrance, and it’s about to bring down the house! As an untested hero with the mastery of his abilities still in its infancy, Barry Allen will face the toughest challenge of his life to defend Central City from the invading forces of those who seek its destruction. Our hero is faced with the fateful choice to either become a superhero or die trying!

“The Flash Year One” continues! As our hero picks up the pieces from his disastrous defeat at the hands of the Turtle, the rise of the Rogues in Central City gives the Flash renewed resolve. But Barry is still learning to master his abilities, and while an experienced speedster might know how to outrun a gun, this time he may not be so lucky…

“The Flash Year One” continues! Things are not looking pretty for the Flash, who just got his scarlet butt handed to him by the Turtle. If Barry Allen thought being a hero was going to be easy, he’d better think again after this beating–but will it be enough to detour his destiny?

The Flash #71 continues the so far fantastic “Year One” story arc that began in the last issue. I’ll admit, when I first head that The Flash was doing a “Year One” story, I was a bit skeptical. While DC has a good record of them, is it something we really need? With two issues in, the answer is yes when the story is this good.

Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter have crafted a hell of a story no matter when it’s set in Barry’s life. What stands out is Williamson’s focus on the scientific side of Barry.

The Flash #71 takes us through the trope of the hero continuing to discover the use of his powers. But, it’s how Barry does it that stands out. In this issue, and the previous, he uses his scientific mind to go through and figure things out. There’s a smarts about it. But, this issue really stands out as it’s not just a “Year One” but also some time in the future.

A large portion of the issue is Barry dealing with his future self and a time when The Turtle isn’t as much of a joke. It’s a different take on this type of story and one that’s very welcome.

Williamson also makes sure to focus on Barry’s early life and how that impacted him. While not as much of that is here, there’s still much about his personality that is in the issue, including a shyness and lack of confidence that makes him stand out.

The art by Porter with color by Hi-Fi is as fantastic as expected. There’s such an energy about it all and the designs are amazing. The Turtle and Barry’s early costume just pop in both look and color. The Flash is all about speed and there’s an energy about the art that feels so appropriate for the character.

I was skeptical, I’ll admit it. Two issues, and that skepticism is gone. The Flash has been a consistently entertaining comic and this new story arc is exactly that. Joshua Williamson’s run on The Flash has been amazing so far and this latest arc is an example of what he’s been bringing to the character.

“The Flash Year One” continues! Barry Allen struggles to control his powers as he experiments with his newfound abilities. When one of his tests lands him in a mess, he’ll come face to face with his first villains!

“The Flash Year One” starts here! Barry Allen feels helpless in his life in Central City. As a forensic scientist, he’s always catching criminals after they’ve committed their crimes. All that changes one fateful night when Barry is struck by a bolt of lightning and doused in chemicals. When he wakes from a coma, he realizes he can run at incredible speeds. Can Barry master these powers and be the hero his city needs…or will the powers burn through him?

Aquaman faces the truth behind Atlantis’ past and must find a way to reclaim the power of his birthright or watch the floodwaters drown everything he has ever loved! With the world at stake and the Justice League on their last sea legs in their battle against the Ocean Lords, Arthur makes the ultimate sacrifice to return balance to land and sea!

I’ve generally enjoyed “Drowned Earth,” a “summer popcorn movie” in comic form. Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth wraps up the story with an all-out assault against the space gods. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work and generally winds up being rather thin.

Writer Scott Snyder delivers action, there’s a lot of it as Aquaman, Mera, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash, are all that stand to stop the end of the world. But, Snyder delivers an ending that is fairly predictable in outcome and moments.

There’s the back and forth between Aquaman and Mera where Aquaman swears there’s another way other than murder. There’s the betrayal. There’s sacrifice. It’s all things we’ve seen before time and time again. While it’s still satisfying in ways, the issue still delivers little that feels new. Even a battle against a giant space kraken is something we’ve seen. But, it does set potentially interesting things up for some of the characters by issue end which Snyder has a talent for. It’s enough that I want to see to see what’s next.

The comic is handled by a rather large art team for its oversized issue. Francis Manapul, Howard Porter, and Scott Godlweski on art, Manapul and Hi-Fi on color, and lettering by Tom Napolitano deliver art that at time is very cool but differing styles are noticeable and frustrating. Both this issue and the previous entry in the event had multiple artists and the switch in styles was noticeable and a negative. The art isn’t bad, there’s just a shift which kills the flow in storytelling. It’s different enough that it’s obvious and feels like you’ve just jammed on the breaks after cruising. You notice it and makes the ride a little less enjoyable. Hopefully this doesn’t become a regular thing but it hasn’t helped what otherwise has been a visually entertaining event.

There’s not much depth here, this is big action popcorn theater. The scenes are over the top and the moments are checked off in predictable ways. The event has been a fun one overall and worth checking out in trade but overall, we’ve seen so much better from everyone involved.

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